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The Flagship Species Fund

Established as a joint initiative between the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Fauna & Flora International in 2001, the Flagship Species Fund provides practical support to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats in developing countries. The Fund is supported not only by Defra, but also the corporate sector receiving contributions from BP, Rio Tinto, and Vodafone.

Flagships are generally high profile and charismatic species that may play a significant ecological role and often have important cultural associations. Flagship species act as symbols for the threats to the broader ecosystem in which they occur, and can thus provide a catalyst for wide-ranging conservation activities.

The recipients of Flagship Species Fund grants typically run locally-operated projects in developing countries, often working in difficult field conditions where lack of equipment, unwieldy bureaucracies and unstable political situations can often hamper a project’s development.   Despite their day-to-day struggles, these committed local conservationists work against the odds to secure the protection of threatened species and habitats.

“The funding came at the right time when the park was in a real crisis…and meant that rangers were able to continue undertaking patrols.”
(Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature – 2005 Flagship Species Fund Recipient).

The Fund also provides essential strategic funding in early stages of conservation projects, many of which have subsequently flourished and secured more substantial funds from other sources.

Since 2009 the fund has developed a particular focus on encouraging applicants from the UK Overseas Territories.

“This funding will provide us with the means to significantly take forward the recently published Species Action Plan for Cobb's Wren, one of only two endemic birds in the Falkland Islands.  This year this special bird is celebrating 100 years since its discovery. It is rated as Vulnerable due to the ease it can be eradicated by rats and its limited presence on offshore islands.  We will now be able to survey one of the last concentrations of islands where their presence is unknown and continue to eradicate rats on infested islands to provide additional suitable habitat.”
(Falklands Conservation, 2009 Flagship Species Grant recipient).

Main grants
Small grants
Previously funded projects (PDF)

Small grants programme

Providing urgently needed support to small-scale and pilot conservation projects, this fund supports organisations around the world that are working directly towards the protection of endangered flagship species. In 2009 the fund focused on invertebrate projects.

 “We are excited about the opportunity that the Flagship Species Fund has provided for butterfly research in Assam.  Today, global conservation funding and attention largely focuses on vertebrates, and invertebrates are underrepresented.  Working closely with Butterfly Northeast, a regional network of butterfly researchers and enthusiasts, we aim to collect baseline data and explore the possibilities of using swallowtails as flagships for conservation.” 
(Daniel Gurdak, Flagship Species Fund Small Grant recipient 2009).

'Please note that the deadline for 2010 applications has now passed.

To find out more about supporting the Flagship Species Fund, please contact Esther Bertram at esther.bertram@fauna-flora.org or call +44 (0)1223 571000.